During the week ending April 17, average prices of pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) in the Chinese domestic market have moved sideways compared to April 10, while transaction activity in the domestic market has been at low-to-medium levels.
Offer prices of ex-China PPGI have been heard at $615-635/mt, moving sideways on average compared to April 10.
Average PPGI prices in the local Chinese market are presented in the following table.
| Specification (mm) | Category | Average price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change ($/mt) |
| 0.476 x 1,000 | CGCC | 4,763 | - | 694 | - |
| 0.426 x 1,000 | CGCC | 4,923 | - | 717 | - |
13 percent VAT is included in all prices and all prices are ex-warehouse.
During the given week, PPGI prices in the Chinese domestic market have remained stable amid slight increases in capacity utilization rates on the producers’ side. Since April is another month of the peak season for PPGI sales, inventories have indicated decreases, bolstering prices firmly. Recently, iron ore prices have moved up, exerting a positive impact on PPGI prices from the cost side. At the same time, coke prices may increase next week, which would also provide support for PPGI prices. Meanwhile, HRC futures prices have moved on an upward trend, signaling improved market sentiments. It is expected that PPGI prices in the Chinese domestic market will rebound slightly in the coming week.
As of April 17, HRC futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,324/mt ($476/mt), increasing by RMB 51/mt ($7.4/mt) or 1.6 percent since April 10, while rising by 0.33 percent compared to the previous trading day, April 16.
$1 = RMB 6.8622
